Reviewed by Judy Richter
San Francisco,1976 -- a city
where seemingly anything goes, a city of infinite beauty, freedom, excitement
and possibilities. These qualities drew thousands of people to the city,
especially younger people looking for a new way of life.These qualities and
such people also were deftly captured in "Tales of the City," a five-day-a-week serial
by Armistead Maupin in the San Francisco Chronicle. The column quickly became so popular
that it was must reading throughout the Bay Area. Even though it was mostly
fictional, it reflected the times, and some of the characters were based on
real people. Part of the fun was trying to guess who they were.
The
series also morphed into eight books and a PBS miniseries starring Olympia
Dukakis and Laura
Linney. Now it's
a smash hit musical enjoying its world premiere at American Conservatory
Theater in the
city of its birth. To those of us who read it so eagerly every morning it
skillfully encapsulates the main characters as well as some of the primary plot
lines featured in its earlier years. Those who weren't so fortunate can still
relish the people, places and events captured in the music and lyrics of Jake
Shears and John
Garden and the
book by Jeff Whitty.
The
story opens as 25-year-old Mary Ann Singleton (Betsy Wolfe), who has been visiting a friend
in San Francisco, calls her mother in Cleveland and says she's not going back.
She has fallen in love with San Francisco. Her search for an apartment leads
her to the fictional 28 Barbary Lane and a rooming house owned by the kindly
Anna Madrigal (Judy Kaye). Mrs. Madrigal has created a family of sorts with her tenants, all
in their late 20s or early 30s. They include the drug-using Mona Ramsey (Mary
Birdsong), the
straight Brian Hawkins (Patrick Lane) and, eventually, the gay Michael "Mouse"
Tolliver (Wesley Taylor). Their larger circle of friends includes Connie Bradshaw (Julie
Reiber), Mary
Ann's friend from Cleveland; and Jon Fielding (Josh Breckenridge), a gynecologist who becomes
Michael's boyfriend.
Thanks
to Mona, who already works there, Mary Ann gets a job at an ad agency owned by
the curmudgeonly Edgar Halcyon (Richard Poe). Her immediate supervisor is
Edgar's son-in-law, Beauchamp Day (Andrew Samonsky), a cad who is unhappily married
to DeDe Halcyon-Day (Kathleen Elizabeth Monteleone) and who talks Mary Ann into an
ill-fated weekend in Mendocino.
When
Anna and Edgar meet by chance in a park, she senses his unhappiness and shows
him some basic kindness. This small gesture evolves into a gentle love affair
as he finds respite from his unhappy marriage and the knowledge that he has
only a short time to live. Completing the list of main characters are Norman
Neal Williams (Manoel Felciano), a new Madrigal roomer who dates Mary Ann for a time;
and Mother Mucca (Diane J. Findlay ), the foul-mouthed but good-hearted owner of a rundown
Nevada brothel.
As
these characters deal with various challenges and opportunities, San Francisco
is aswirl with freewheeling sex and drugs five years before the emergence of
AIDS. Shears and Garden's music evokes the spirit of the times from the very
first note. A nine-person ensemble portrays a variety of San Francisco denizens
from roller skaters to drag queens, outrageously flamboyant in Beaver Bauer's eye-poppingly creative
costumes. Douglas W. Schmidt's skeletal set easily morphs from 28 Barbary Lane to the
Halcyon office to numerous other environs, including the End Up, a popular gay
bar where Michael enters a jockey-shorts contest. Lighting by Robert Wierzel
and sound by John
Shivers enhance
the milieu. Jason Moore's inventive, sure-handed direction of the outstanding cast and Larry
Keigwin's
choreography are crucial to the show's success. Cian McCarthy is the music director/conductor.
"Tales
of the City"
is a big, colorful, fun show, yet it has more than its share of poignant
moments. Perhaps the most poignant of all is "Dear Mama," a song based on the
letter that Michael writes to his parents in Florida. They have just visited
him and told him that they're joining Anita Bryant's anti-gay crusade. In the
letter, Michael comes out, assures his parents that nothing they did caused him
to be gay, assures them that he loves them and asks that they accept him. Some
of his words come back late in the show when Mrs. Madrigal reveals a
long-hidden secret.
Everything
about "Tales" works toward its enjoyment except for the lack of a
song list in the program. The show has proven to be such a hit that ACT
extended its run for two weeks. And although some of the show's references are
best known in the Bay Area, "Tales of the City" has Broadway written
all over it.